Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-12-07

has devoted her life and happiness to YOU"
"My God! my God!'
~ will not deceive you. Such happi.
ness cannot come to pass if you are
guilty"
"I am not guilty!' he cried, starting to
his feet. "God knows l am not guilty."
"Swear it," exclaimed, sternly!
"By all my hopes Of happiness" he eX-
claimed, falling upon his knees-''by my
dear Mabcl's life, by my dear mothers
life-I swear that am innoccntr'
He was grovelling. on the floor, anu I
assisted him to rise.
"And being not guilty." said SOL
emnly, "you were content to remain in
hiding while another man was accused Of
the crime which neither he nor you COM
mitted And being not guilty, you would
have waited until he was done to death
before you emerged once more into the
light of day! believe you when you say
you did not know of your sisters peril,
but you knew of the peril in which Edward
Layton stood. Don't denyit. Remember,
the time of evasion has passed"
eyes" he murmered, 81 knew it,"
'Why did you not come forward" I
said Indignantly, rushing as if by IN inspi-
ration of reasoning to the truth; "to affirm
that you and Ida White were in Prevost's
restaurant, in the very room in which Ed
ward Layton and your sister entered, on
the night of March 2j. Why did you not
come forward to affirm that it was you
wholly n dcvilish prompting-took Ed
ward Layton's ulster, unknown to him,
from the peg upon which it was hanging
and went out with your paramour to the
carriage in which he and your sister had
arrived? Answer me. Why did you not
do this, to prevent noble and innocent
man from being condemned for murder
which he did not commit?
''It was no murder!" cried Eustace.
'It was no murder! She died by her own
handr'
''She died " her own handn' echoed,
bewildered by this sudden turn in the
complexion of the case.
"Ycs," said Eustace, "by her own hand.
Upon the table by her bedside there was
written evidence of it,"
(Which you removedn' I cried.
"No, not I, not 1! Of which she took
posscssion!'
"Speak plainly. Whom do you mean
by Shc-lda Whlte!"
"YeSn
1 paused. Truth to tell, WIS over
whelmed by these disclosures.
''Bear this steadfastly in mind" I said,
presently, in calm, judicial tone. ''You
are in the presence of a man who has
sworn to rescue the innocent. You are
in the presence of o man who has sworn
to bring the guilty to justice. Upon me
depends your fate. 1 can save or destroy
you. If by hairs breadth of duplicity
and evasion You attempt to deceive me,
your destruction is certain. This is the
turning point of your life. Upon your
truthfulness rests your fate. Open your
heart to me, not as to your enemy but as
to your friend, and relate to me, without
equivocation, the true story of your life
from the time you commenced to plunge
into dissipation and disgrace"
Awed and conscience stricken, he told
me the story. In the course of his nara
ton I was compelled frequently to prompt
and encourage him, but that, in the result,
it was truthfully told have not shadow
of doubt.
His career at college ended, he came to
London. There he made the acquaintance
of Edward Layton's father, man who,
although well on in years, was as weak
minded as he was himself. They entered
into q kind of partnership, in which, no
doubt, the elder man, now in his grave,
was the leader and prompter. From Eu-
stace's description of Edward Layton's
father I recognized man weak minded as
Eustace himself was, and whose inherent
Ir 10
fatal passion for gambling. Old Mr..
Layton for q long time kept his infatua-
tion from the knowledge of his son, and it
was not until he was actually involved in
crime and disgrace that Edward became
aware of it. Long before this Edward
had, through his engagement with Mabel
Rutland, been employed in the hopeless
task of endeavoring to save her be-
loved brother, but when the knowledge
of his own fathers disgrace was forced
upon him he knew that all hope of Ma
bells father consenting to his mar
riage was irretrievably gone. 1t was not
only that the young and the old man had
lost money in betting-it was that they
had actually been guilty of forging bills,
which Mr.. Beach, the father of the woman
whom Edward Layton afterward mar
ricd, held in his possession. 1t was this
that first took Edward Layton to Mr..
Beach's house. Mabel had implored him
to save her darling brother, against whom
Mr.. Beach had threatened to take criminal
proceedings. I do not at this moment
know whether Edward Layton had re-
vealcd to Mabel the disgrace which hung
also above his father; but that is imma-
tcrial. Agnes Beach, Mr.. Beach's only
child. saw and fell in love with Edward
Layton, and her father, disreputable as he
was. being devoted to his daughter, was
guided by her in all that subsequently
transpircd. The bills he held he deter
minedly refused to part with, unless Ed
ward Layton married his child.
In the terrible position III which he was
placed, knowing that Mabel Rutland was
lost to him fOrever-knowing how deeply
and dcvotedly she loved her brother
Eustacc-knowing the disgrace which
hung over his own name, he saw no other
way to prevent utter ruin than to enter
into this fatal engagement and to marry q
woman whom he did not love. But, with
q full consciousness Of the diSreputable
connection he was about to form, he laid
no pressing injunction upon his father to
recognize the unhappy union; and, in
deed. old Mr.. Layton, aware that he was
in Mr. Bcach's pG-:rr. was by no means
(esirous to meet h:N'. Love lost, honor
lost, the sword hanging over his head,
Edward Layton submitted to the sacrifice.
There was no duplicity on his part. Agnes
Beach knew full well that he did not love
her. lie received, as he believed. the
whole of the forged bills which Mr. Beach
held, and it was not until some time after
his marriage that he discovered that three
of these fatal acccptanccs had been with
held from him. At the time he made this
discovery he was leading Il most unhappy
life with his wife, and on more than one
occasion she tainted him with the power
she held over him.
1t was shortly after the marriage that
weak minded Eustacc made the acquaint-
ancc of Ida White. She was an attractive
woman, well verscd in the wiles of her
sex, and she played upon him and en-
tangled him to such an extent that there
was no escape for him. 1t is unnecessary
here to enter into the details of this con-
ncction. 1t is sufficient to say that Ida
White held Erstace Rutland completely
Ill ncr power, Will u Illlll L'lClloll lllttO
if she could induce him to marry her she
could, after the marriage, obtain the for
giveness of Eustacc's father-which would
insure her q life of case and luxury. But
there was still Il certain 1lrmncss in the
young man.
"A1arry me-" she said.
II will marry you," Eustace replied,
"whcn 1 get back the forged acccptances.
Where were they? In Mrs. Layton's